The title of this week’s blog post can often be put into the spoken quotations of many restauranteurs and their marketing managers. For well over a decade food service businesses have struggled with the decision of whether or not to build a completely customized website from scratch. It may seem that such a thing would be the suggested course. However, if you have found this article, you and/or your industry associates have likely been through a gauntlet of website development fiascos. As with any field, there are good and bad service providers. Too often the bad are chosen to take on a website development project because the promises are grand and the prices seem right, at the time. The result ends up being a website completed well after the estimated date of completion and one that does not look or function as you were promised. The wounded souls of restauranteurs, hesitant to revisit their options with more expensive developers, end up seeking alternative solutions for their online needs. That’s where our industry comes into play. Let’s take a look and see if you should consider a website template for your eatery.
5 Ways to Identify If You Should Use a Template for Your Restaurant Website
1. You’re on a Limited Online Marketing Budget at the Moment
It can cost thousands of dollars to build an entirely new restaurant website from scratch. We all know that with profit margins as they are in the restaurant industry that “disposable” cash/credit may not be readily available, allocated instead to perceivably more pressing matters that require immediate spending. However you also recognize the urgency of putting your dining brand out there for online consumption. In this situation, choosing from a series of unique yet preset restaurant website templates is a wise decision. Once you’ve committed to a design, you only have to sign up for a very affordable monthly subscription that can cost less to maintain than a daily-cup-of-coffee budget for the month.
2. You Need a New Website, Now
If you are considering a template then the chances are that you need a website sooner than later. This is especially true when seasonal fluctuations reach their peak. For example, if you have happened to perform an online search for this information and found this article here in the month of October/November then you are feeling the pinch of the impending holiday season. Being without an aesthetically pleasing and fully functioning website at this time of the year can soon turn into an opportunity lost. If you need as quick a turnaround time for you restaurant website as possible then a template with a monthly subscription is your best option. Select a plan today and be up and running by the end of the week – it’s that fast!
3. You Don’t Have Any Online-Ready Marketing Material
Even if you are ready to take on the cost of building a custom website the provided estimate can soon skyrocket if you don’t have any graphics or high-resolution photos to provide the designer/developer with. Without this brand creative the web team will have to go through various rounds of changes (added expense) and secure imagery from other stock sources (added expense) if you can’t come to an agreement with the images they have at their own disposal. The less you have to provide a designer/developer with, the more difficult and more expensive it will be to build a completely new custom website for your restaurant. However, when you are given the option to match your existing brand logo, colors, and style with proven template designs you can simply “step into” your new website with ease. Send us your information and we can provide you with design options that will work perfectly with your existing restaurant brand.
4. You Prefer to Get Started on a Trial Basis
We understand your hesitation when it comes to making a decision on which direction you should go when it comes to a new website for your restaurant. This current procrastination is often born from being burned in the past. You don’t exactly feel like investing thousands of dollars into something (again?) only to be left completely unsatisfied a month or so after its completion. However, when you use a reputable website template service that comes with a monthly subscription you are given a trial basis which allows you to make a decision weeks down the road as to whether or not the template makes sense for you. We are so confident that you will be satisfied with our templates and subscription that we provide a 30-day money back guarantee on our Basic Plan. We offer this to you so that you can gain confidence in moving forward with us.
5. You Need a Website That Comes Search Engine Friendly
It doesn’t matter how great your new website (template or otherwise) looks and functions if customers can’t find it online. It also doesn’t matter if your eatery is a food truck, a mom & pop cafe, a greasy spoon, or gourmet fine dining establishment because competition is knocking at your door. The only thing that may give you a competitive advantage is reaching your shared customer base online before anyone else, and this of course can only be accomplished with a search engine optimized website. When you have a new custom website built search engine optimization (SEO) is very rarely included in the process. When it is, the mark-up for a one-time fixture is often very large, as is the monthly SEO upkeep which can run well over $500/month. Finding a restaurant website template subscription that provides an already SEO friendly template is a great way to jump out of the gates. Finding one that also integrates SEO into their monthly plans is essential to ensuring that your online presence remains competitive throughout the year and beyond.
If you have any further questions about website templates for your restaurant, or specific questions for The SEO Chefs, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.